Automated banking machines are well known. A common type of automated banking machine used by consumers is an automated teller machine (“ATM”). ATMs enable customers to carry out banking transactions. Common banking transactions that may be carried out with ATMs include the dispensing of cash, the receipt of deposits, the transfer of funds between accounts, the payment of bills and account balance inquiries. The types of banking transactions a customer can carry out are determined by capabilities of the particular machine and the programming of the institution operating the machine. Other types of automated banking machines may allow customers to charge against accounts, to pay bills, to transfer funds or to cash checks. Other types of automated banking machines may print or dispense items of value such as coupons, tickets, wagering slips, vouchers, checks, food stamps, money orders, scrip or travelers checks. For purposes of this disclosure, references to an ATM, an automated banking machine or automated transaction machine shall encompass any device which carries out transactions including transfers of value.
ATMs often include card readers which are operative to read account information from a user's card such as a bank card, credit card, debit card, or any other kind of card capable of supplying the ATM with information usable to perform a financial transaction. Such cards may include a magnetic stripe in which account information is magnetically written to the card. The Card reader may include a magnetic reading device, which is operative to read the magnetically written account information from the magnetic stripe of the card. Such magnetic reading devices may include a magnetic sensor which is relatively smaller than the magnetic stripe of the card. Thus some card readers may also include a motorized transport which is operative to move the card across the magnetic sensor so that all of the portions of the magnetic stripe which contain account information can be read by the magnetic reading device. With these motorized card readers, the user partially inserts their card into a slot in the card reader at which time a sensor in the card reader detects the card and triggers the transport to begin moving the card further into the card reader adjacent the magnetic sensor.
Unfortunately prior art motorized card readers are susceptible to being used by thieves to acquire the account information from the user's card. This has been done by placing an unauthorized magnetic stripe reading device adjacent and/or inside the card slot of the card reader and/or ATM. Such an unauthorized device may be constructed to match the visual appearance of the fascia of the ATM to trick a user into thinking that the device is an integral feature of the ATM.
As the motorized card reader moves the card into or out of the card reader, a magnetic sensor in the unauthorized device is operative to read account information from the magnetic stripe of the card. An unauthorized hidden camera may also be mounted to or near the ATM in a position to visually record the user typing their account PIN into the keypad of the ATM. Through use of unauthorized magnetic stripe readers and/or hidden cameras a thief may acquire sufficient information to steal money from the user's account.
Thus, there exists a need for a card reader which is operative to minimize the opportunity for thieves to skim a user's account information using an unauthorized magnetic stripe reading device.